“Mad Annoying”: Worked Up Caitlin Clark Drops F-Bombs in Frustration as Fans Divide over On-Court Antics

A fired-up Caitlin Clark marched into the Carver–Hawkeye Arena for one final time. In an enticing second-round matchup in the Albany 2 region, the Hawkeyes hosted West Virginia on Monday evening. However, the heat of the battle created a viral moment during the game, which involved the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer. In an intense battle, emotions ran wild on the court. Amidst that intensity, the crowd saw an unfamiliar side of the dynamic No.22.

Throughout the game, the Mountaineers put on a physical brand of basketball, limiting the Hawkeyes to uncharacteristically low scores. In the first half, they locked down Clark, and by the end of the second quarter, the home team had only a two-point advantage. But with the third quarter winding down, Clark came alive.

As the scoreboard read 43-38 in favor of the Hawkeyes, the reigning National Player of the Year went past the defense and floated a beautiful layup along with contact, resulting in a three-point play. Following this, everyone saw an animated Clark dropping some F-bombs, presumably saying, “Shut the f*ck up.” Clark is known to have a calm and composed personality on and off the court. To witness her show this kind of anger was surprising for many. But what was even more surprising was her father’s reaction.

After Caitlin Clark cursed, the camera panned to her father, who looked visibly frustrated as his son tried to calm him down. This came after a similar reaction during his daughter’s first-round game against the Holy Cross Crusaders. After being elbowed in the face, Clark was furious and complained to the referees. Her father seemed to have shouted at her to stop.

Coming back to the West Virginia game. While it was a low-scoring one, Clark was up to her usual standards, dropping 32 points, thus breaking the single-season points-scoring record. However, she wasn’t efficient as she shot 8-22 from the field and 5-14 from deep. Making 11 out of her 12 free throws helped her scoring numbers as the Hawkeyes scraped past West Virginia 64-54.

Nevertheless, Clark’s angry moment created quite a buzz on social media. While some loved her aggression, others had a critical view of this moment of the game, as well as her father’s reaction to it.

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Caitlin Clark’s outburst: A result of a “frustrating game” or bad officiating?

Caitlin Clark’s stats speak for themselves. As far as her game is concerned, there’s no doubt that she’s one of the best. But it’s her on-court behavior that many don’t take too well to. Bringing up the fact that she’s often complained to the referees, they wrote, “Bro Caitlin Clark is the biggest crybaby. Her game is definitely one of the best, but her attitude is trash.”

Last night, as Clark and the Hawkeyes took on the Mountaineers, Jayson Tatum and the Celtics played against the Atlanta Hawks. During the game, Tatum kept complaining to the referees about a missed call, and the commentator couldn’t help but bring up Clark. Bob Rathbun said, “Boy, Jayson Tatum does a lot of complaining! Who does he think he is, Caitlin Clark? Caitlin Clark was complaining so much [that] her dad got on her.”

Speaking of her father, another fan presumably referenced his outburst in the Holy Cross game as well as the one on Monday night. They wrote, “It’s obvious that Caitlin doesn’t take constructive criticism from Dad. This was a frustrating game for her as WV defense was on her like bee’s on honey.” With Clark complaining, the Tatum reference wasn’t the only comparison of the night.

An X user brought up Diana Taurasi. The WNBA player has received quite some criticism for her complaints. And considering Clark is WNBA-bound, the user wrote, “With Caitlin’s whining and constant complaining, I guess it’s good to know that we have a player who will take Diana T’s place in the WNBA when she retires!” What many wanted to express was, “Caitlin Clark mad annoying.”

However, some fans were on the Hawkeyes guard’s side as well. Writing that Clark screamed, “Shut the f*ck up,” they added, “Cold.” Another user reacted to it by simply writing, “Wowowowowow!” Considering how fired up Clark was, one of her fans was likely surprised, expressing, “How many f-bombs did Caitlin Clark say on ESPN tonight lol? She’s fired up.” 

There were also quite a few bad officiating calls–albeit against West Virginia, more so than Iowa. Referencing this, a user empathized with Caitlin Clark’s fired-up reaction, writing, “What is a player to do in a situation like this when the refs are horrible and show they don’t even know the RULES of basketball? Unfair and unethical.”

A wild night ended on a positive note for the Hawkeyes. Despite such divided reactions, Hawkeyes fans will be glad to see Iowa making its way into the Sweet 16. The fifth-seeded Colorado Buffaloes are up next, and the two teams will square off on Saturday. That said, what are your thoughts on Caitlin Clark’s reaction?

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